Thursday, November 20, 2008

The CEOs of the top three U.S. automakers (Ford, General Motors [GM] and Chrysler) recently met in Washington DC before lawmakers to lobby for an industry bailout plan that would cost an estimated $25 billion. Their claim is that a failing automotive industry spells disaster for the U.S. economy, which will eventually have a ripple effect in the global markets. President-elect Obama supports the bailout plan and believes immediate action should be taken to prevent a major meltdown of the U.S. economy......but I have an opposing point of view on this.

OK, let's cut to the chase. First, it was $700 billion to bailout the corporate hot shots that were (and still are) gambling our savings and 401(k) money away in the Wall Street casino. Now, the millionaire, Cessna jet-flying automotive CEOs want a piece of the pie. When Michael Moore predicted back in about 1990 that GM could go "belly-up" within approximately 20 years, his predictions were viewed as blasphemous and "unpatriotic", but as we now see, he was right on the mark. Moore was recently on CNN - Larry King Live blaming the automotive industry crisis on inefficiencies, greed and overall disregard for consumer choice and concern. He said they should not get one red cent of this bailout money and I totally agree.

The automakers had an opportunity in the past to produce a more fuel-efficient line of vehicles, but chose not to pursue this product line in favor of mass producing gas-guzzling pick-up trucks and SUVs. Not surprisingly, soon after this, the cost of fuel at the pump began to creep up and eventually skyrocket recently reaching a national average of over $4.00 a gallon. Makes me wonder if the automakers and big oil companies were in cahoots, but that is merely speculation. When you add on top of this years of fiscal irresponsibility and mismanagement, you end up with the big mess we are currently facing.

Bottom line: whose fault is this? The automakers themselves; not the U.S. labor workers who watched their jobs get shipped overseas in favor of cheaper labor which resulted in a lower quality product and not the consumers who were force-fed certain vehicle product. But, it's the U.S. taxpayers who would foot the bill of this massive bailout plan of the automotive industry. Now does this sound fair? I'll let you be the judge.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama (D-Ill) catapulted himself to the White House with the support of a strong, well-organized ground campaign and a solid, well-versed political platform. Obama was also the beneficiary of several external factors such as a deteriorating economy and an unpopular President who continues to support an unpopular war. The American people had more confidence in Obama to fix the economy, settle the war, and bring overall unity to the country as a whole. America right now feels that the Republicans are not as committed to these objectives.

Now, as far as the rest of the Democrats elected, I believe Mr. Joe Mavretic (former NC House Speaker) summed it up best when he said, “The Democrats will ride Obama’s coattails into office.” Reason: after selecting the President, it appears many voters just voted a straight party ticket instead of taking the time to vote for each office individually. I believe this hurt some more qualified candidates like Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory who seemed better versed on the issues and ran a much better campaign than Lt. Gov. (now Governor-elect) Bev Purdue. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) had her race won and then just killed herself with that controversial “Godless Americans” ad campaign and ended up losing to now Senator-elect Kay Hagan.

Elections are very crucial to the futures of our cities, states, the country and most importantly our children. We should invest some time in researching all candidates running for public office and not just rely on what we see on the nightly news. Remember, the TV news is only going to focus on what they feel will get ratings - they will not cover everything. We need to do our homework to make sure we are putting the right individuals in office that will best address the issues of concerned citizens and will do so in a fiscally responsible manner. Merely showing party loyalty does not ensure this. One thing is certain: North Carolina and the nation will be under new management in 2009 and let’s see if we will be better off in 4 years than we are now.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) delivered a gracious, well-versed concession speech after losing to now President-elect Barack Obama Tuesday evening. McCain acknowledged the difficulties currently facing the country and pledged his support to President Obama. But, when he asked the crowd to offer their support to the new President, McCain was met with loud boos and very negative remarks. In contrast, when Obama admitted that John McCain was a formidable opponent during the entire campaign, the huge crowd in Chicago applauded to show their respect.

That brings me to my point: that crowd in Phoenix to me showed a total lack of respect to the new President-elect of the United States. They have had things their way for the past eight years and they anticipate sweeping changes that may impact their lives for what they think will be for the worse. Some of them are still playing on all the ignorant rhetoric perpetrated by the radical right-wing media (there is another eight-letter word for "rhetoric" I wanted to use but I will keep the blog as vulgar free as possible). And, of course, you have those who just don't like the idea of a non-white male President.

Without question, all this negativity from the McCain-Palin supporters is absolutely deplorable and condemnable. However, let me make this clear: Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) did not directly sow any seeds of hatred and division during this campaign. (This is where I disagree with Rep. John Lewis (D-GA).) They did not create the climate that caused this manifestation of negativity and borderline racism from their supporters. I blame the radical right wing radio talk shows and biased cable TV news shows that could not find legitimate flaws in President-elect Obama's political history and chose instead to focus on his character flaws and questionable associations. Seeing so-called "Americans" react this way to the election of the first African-American man as President of the United States tells me that we have a long way to go before we totally heal the wounds of racial division in this country.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

After taking a major electoral vote whooping during Tuesday night's election, the McCain camp looks to pass blame and identify the source of failure. Lately, it seems like all fingers are pointing to Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK).

Now, let me get this straight, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) hand picks Sarah Palin to be the Vice Presidential candidate of the ticket and the McCain camp annoints her as the trophy queen to be the savior of a struggling campaign. She injects some much needed energy into the campaign at the Repulican National Convention and is immediately elevated to rock star status (similar to Sen. Obama) drawing huge crowds at the rallies. Sounds like a winner so far.

Then came the infamous Katie Couric interview. That is when we really learned some stuff about Sarah Palin. Repeated gaffes after that raised some serious doubt in the minds of the voters, notably McCain supporters about Palin's ability to be President (in the event something should happen to a 72+ year-old McCain). Despite all the trickery and reported voter machine problems, Obama supporters showed up in force at the polls and in a virtual landslide elected the first African-American President in U.S. history.

Here is my message to the McCain camp: The McCain-Palin ticket goes down in defeat and you wanna blame Palin for your incompetencies and inability to run an effective campaign? Are you just mad that you didn't win and didn't get your way this time? How is it that Sen. now President-elect Obama was able to raise more than two times the money for his campaign? Why don't you guys just go find Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and the rest of the right-wing extremists and all of you can have yourselves a big old pity party. Leave Gov. Palin out of this. I don't blame her for lashing out at the media, the McCain camp and even members of her own camp for these outlandish allegations. She is poised to come back in 2012 and become a formidable Presidential candidate after getting some more much needed "executive experience".

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

President elect Barack Obama just put the beat down on Sen. John McCain in the electoral vote count on Tuesday and can now start measuring the drapes for the White House. Soon-to-be former President George Bush can start calling the U-Haul truck, pack up all his stuff and start making his way back to the ranch in Texas. Looks like we're gonna have fried chicken, collard greens and blackeye peas at the Presidential Inaugural dinner. The American people have spoken up for change and actually made their voices heard at the polls. Demographics that traditionally have not had very good voter turnout showed up in record numbers and put Obama in the White House. Let us soak all this in and cherish the moment and pray that our country can get back on the right track. Congratulations to President elect Barack Obama!

Now, here is something else I was really excited about Tuesday night. In another article below in this blog, I mention Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) and his controversial remarks made about western PA residents being "racist and redneck". CNN gave an objective report in this video:

So, how dare Rep. Murtha call his constituents "racists and rednecks"! They are not really like that.....are they? Well, you make the call by watching this video of a McCain-Palin rally in Johnstown PA:

Now, after watching all this you would have thought old man Murtha would have gotten the boot, right? Well, the voters have spoken and Rep. John Murtha has been re-elected to represent the 12th Congressional District in Pennsylvania. This voting logic affirms that the residents in this area are indeed "racist and redneck" and proud of it! Congratulations to Rep. John Murtha!